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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · degree · cue · branch · ground · track · date · prune

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. degree — temperature
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — a position
  8. date — the fruit
  9. cue — a hint
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. track — a song
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cue — a signal
  15. ground — crushed
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. track — to keep track
  19. prune — to trim
  20. track — a path
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. cue — for pool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com